A Thousand Years
by cupidity11
Summary: There's an accident that nearly leaves him dead. Comatose. Hatred can withstand time, lust dissipates but, love grows when death is near. Many thanks to Lil-Banshee for letting me use her gorgeous art for this cover.
1. Part One

_One step closer…Colors (golden irises, ivory skin, plain blue shirts) and promises that mean nothing. Or they should mean nothing. Might've meant nothing a few years ago._

_He was an Invader. A solider. The kind that are trained in the ways of cruelty and are prepared to die for the Empire. The kind that went to battle, prepared to never come back and were honored to spill their own blood for their world. The kind that went to war and destroyed entire planets and felt nothing. No spark of guilt or fear. Irkens didn't know the meaning of either word._

_'Come on, Zim.' Pale lips curled into that smile. The lifting of the sly corners. The one that was pure evil. The one he'd seen so many times he could mark the way the creases would deepen, so many times Zim could draw it on that face in the dark._

_The one that used to mean pain and devious intentions and now meant long days hidden under blankets, warm, lazy afternoons while eating too many sugary confections, rainy mornings, new discoveries and disgusting kisses and teasing touches and so many other human clichés that used to make him sick. Still do on occasions. 'Hurry up. I didn't take you for a slow poke. A moron, but not a slow poke.'_

_Zim glares. Well, Attempts to glare. It falls flat but, it's the thought that counts.  
>His spooch beats so hard, it's too loud in his beats like it wants out of his chest. It's overwhelming and every step he takes the doubt seems to increase. Dib's waiting, that human is standing in the shadows of this hill. Their hill.<em>

_Memories of wrestling, rolling down the steep incline and sledding in the horrid winter season. The entire world zooming by like they were in hyper drive. So swift. So quick. But, it made a tingly delicious sensation take over his entire body._

_Zim's mouth curves down into a frown._

_So uncertain. Was this the right choice? Giving in. Letting everything go. Was it like surrender? He hated that word. Hated how it tasted in his mouth. Hated how the syllables ran together. Hated the meaning behind it._

_But, following all of that…something sour…something very unpleasant. He'd only felt it once in his life. When he'd been on trial. When they'd been about to destroy him, take away his very existence by ripping it out through his back._

_Fear._

_'Hey…' Warm tawny eyes grown softer, too soft. Too Gentle. 'It's okay, Space Monster.' Dib's being stupid and human again. 'I'm scared too.' He makes it sound like a big secret. Like Zim isn't all alone in being weak._

_The guilt eases and Zim doesn't need such stupid words and tender eyes but, all the same the fearless alien invader kicks a rock out of his way (it shoots way beyond them and down into the valley to rejoin its companions) and marches up the hill, all hesitation gone, and into the boy's disgustingly warm arms, as he had many times before. But this time it's so different._

_'Zim isn't scared. You're big head makes you think you know everything.' The alien pokes at the human's sternum. 'You don't, Pig-Brain.'_

_'Uh-huh. I'll remember that, Space-Boy.' Dib's laughter echoes, bouncing off the not too far away mountains, buildings, the sunset and back to them. Zim says nothing back but, smirks and lets himself be enveloped in the too familiar embrace of the human. Everything smells sweetly; like sunshine and antiseptic and Dib. Everything is bleary. It feels like a dream._

_And Zim is content.  
><em>  
>00000/

Three sharp claws press up against the tinted glass with something akin to reverence.  
>There's the constant buzzing, beeping of machinery. This assures him somehow.<p>

The noises become almost like a prayer. Although he doesn't know who he'd be praying to, if anything since he believes in no deity. All he knows is that his wishes feel palatable and are on a continuous loop. Had he really thought that leaving the human here would be an option?

Inside the case of glass, dark hair floats absently in the re-vitalizing chamber. And the human's face is gaunt, pale. So unlike him. Usually so full of life.

Zim bites down on his tongue angrily. Pathetic human.

His claws make a horrible scratching noise against the glass. The human's eyes are closed, lids a sickly lavender color. His lips are slightly parted and the little bubbles that escape are just another assurance that this hasn't been for naught.

The irken steps back a bit away from the machine, his antenna perked for any outside movement from the hallway. Anyone who might come in and disrupt them. Not that it really mattered. Zim's lip curl at the primitive machinery that surround them. A sea of wires and tubes.

He cracked his knuckles, the gloves lightly squeaking in the silence.

"You're more trouble than you're worth, Stink-Brain." Zim hisses before using the combined force of his PAK and his fists to break the revitalizing chamber. The glass shatters and as he'd predicted the alarms start going off immediately.

Cursing in a mixture of Irken and english, Zim hefts the unconscious human into his arms and makes a break for it. The Voot cruiser isn't far from here. But, he hadn't thought he'd be leaving with the boy. Now it was a mad dash. What had he been thinking, leaving Gir at home?

A flood of angry scientists are the least of his worries, Zim thinks, trying not to notice how limp and pale the Dib is as they escape, away from the place where this whole thing had started, away from cold science and even colder aged machinery.

0000/0000  
><em><br>'Zim!' Dib's voice rings in his antenna, frightened but not for himself. But, for him. Zim sees the hazel eyes widen and the gold specks darken with the emotion. There's the loud rumble, and he can feel it in his bones as it shakes the floor._

_Then the explosion. The one that makes him wish he'd never been able to hear because now he barely can. The one that destroyed the entire left wing in Membrane Enterprises. The one that was so blinding, so searing in its intensity that it stole away the Dib-Human's consciousness and had yet to give it back._

_The last thing he sees is Dib's eyes before the world goes white and then black._

_"DIB!"_ Zim is thrown from his sleep cycle from the memory, screaming as it replays itself over and over again. The explosion had damaged him too. Melted PAK metal. His left antenna damaged beyond repair. But, it had captured those last few moments perfectly.

A hand, covered in a new rubber glove, falls against the barrier that separates them. It's weak, flimsy. But, there's a bigger, invisible wall between them now.

The Irken curses himself for feeling so weak. He'd fallen asleep, in front of the tube, as he'd done for the last few weeks. The glass was clear, clear enough to see every tiny flaw on the Earth-stink's body. All the old scars; the ones he'd memorized the stories to. And all the new ones. The still healing skin, raw and red. But, this was good. This was progress. Better than being split open, blood gushing, where Zim could see his bones…when he could hear the boy's slowly fading cries of agony.

He growls, and his throat feels raw.

The machines that surround them beep tellingly; he's alive. Thanks to him. A few more days in that retched place, with all its limited technology and the human would've been dead. The morons on this planet didn't have what it took to keep the boy alive.

Zim lets his hand drop from the tube, eyes fighting not to linger as he turns away to work, fingers twining themselves behind his back. On what…he has no idea. There's nothing to conquer. Nothing that matters.

/0000/

_'Are you positive that we won't be torn to a billion pieces and be left as foodening for those creatures you call "wildlife"?' Zim asks, obviously hesitant. The slope looks deadly, all white and icy. The snow had fallen here the night before, covering the hill with the icky condensed version of rain. To make his point, he kicks a bunch of it out of his way and in the general direction of the human he was speaking to._

_Dib was setting up the sled, pink tongue sticking out from between slightly chapped lips. His ears are covered with the fuzzy muffs. 'Oh, quit being a baby. We won't be torn into two pieces, let alone a billion.' He stood up at last, brushing his gloveless hands off on his pants._

_'Ready?' The teen seems way too enthusiastic for Zim's liking. But, he'd been too much of everything since that day. The day when he'd walked into the stupid stink-head's happy, too excited, too loud. As if that had gave Dib a gigantic boost of energy and life when he'd been lacking in it. Now Dib came to Zim's house and dragged him out to go 'sledding' and for dinners and sometimes they stayed in and just watched X-Files or messed around with deadly chemicals. Or if Zim felt like it they would wrestle, talk, fly into space._

_The irken shook his head, trying to send this particular stream of thought to the mental dumpster where it belonged. The Dib took this as Zim not being ready. He frowned. "Come on Zim. It'll be fun." Then the frown was gone much quicker than it would ever have been two years ago._

_And then the boy's cold fingers had wrapped themselves around Zim's wrist and yanked. "Arragh! I refuse to ride this pathetic 'sled'!"_

_Dib stared down at him, lips quirking into that devious smirk of his. Zim regarded it wearily, wondering what the human had planned now. "You look like a wrapped up cucumber." He informed his alien counterpart._

_The irken snatched his wrist away, from where it had been hanging in the other grip limply. "I DO NOT! I look FABULOUS!" He self-consciously patted down his fuzzy hat, two warm jackets (of which there were three sweaters underneath that) and his new pink scarf._

_Dib crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby tree. "You're right. You do. Zim looks prepared to face the elements and any foreign threats that might try to take him down." The irken sniffed and nodded, holding his chin high._

_"That I am, Dib-Pig. That I am."_

_"So, do you think that the Almighty Zim and his fabulous outfit could withstand a teeny, tiny ride down the hill? After, all you'll in perfectly capable hands." If Zim had paid attention, he would've noticed the light gold eyes dancing with amusement. Dib had achieved the art of manipulating his alien quite a long time ago. Fortunately, for all involved (except Zim) he was a moron and didn't pay any attention._

_"I do not need your hands!" Zim stomped over to the sled and flopped down on top of it, carefully taking position. "I will ride the sled myself!" Sniffing in distain, he looked down over the edge of the hill and his spooch fell. It was high…really, really high. It was like…a billion feet or something._

_Dib was still leaning against the tree, eyebrow raised._

_"Actually,um, Zim wishes for your company so uh, if we crash you can take the worst of it."_

_The human snickered and strode over, the snow crunching under his feet, before he sat down behind the irken, and wrapped his long limbs around Zim's small waist. "Sure, sure. I'll protect your giant ego. It's a trying task, but I'm up for it."_

_The irken felt like he was being made fun of, but was unsure of how so, just settled on glaring evilly over his shoulder at the much too tall teen. "Just hurry and force this primitive machine to move." He didn't expect buttons or wheels or anything fancy (especially not from the human race) but, when Dib began shoving them towards the edge with his feet, Zim grimaced._

_"Ready, Zim?" Dib asked, obviously excited. The irken's antenna twitched as the boy's hot breath swept against the exposed skin of his cheek. His mind kind of blanked for a few seconds as it tended to do around the stupid meat-head._

_"Eh?" His automatic response was all that Dib needed. With a final great push of his feet, he shoved them over the edge of the hill. "Dib-STTiiiiiiiinnk!" Zim shrieked as they went barreling over._

_It only lasted for a few seconds; the cold air as it whipped past them. The pure whiteness all around, except for the bright yellow sled and black boots of the Dib from behind him. The force had him leaning backwards into the male's body. It was warm and stupidly comforting in the whirlwind. Dib's laughter should've hurt his antenna. It didn't._

_They skidded to a rather even stop. Zim's eyes were wide with shock and exhilaration. Dib giggled a bit and hopped off the sled. "You get to carry it back to the top again, slow-poke!" Then he watched as the teen scrambled back to the top, standing out so magnificently against the pure white._

_Zim grinned devilishly, feeling blooms of excitement in his blood. His claws wrapped around the sled and began to run. "I'll bet I can catch air with this stupid device!"_

_"We'll see about that, Space-Boy!"_

_The last words echoed in his mind. The last time he'd heard that name. The last hour of joy they'd spent together…_

"Dib…" Zim found himself curled up in a ball again. It was becoming common place now to awaken from a memory, aching in front of the glass tube where he'd been keeping the boy.

From his position on the floor(he was cold), his antenna could pick up on the radio frequency. Membrane was still looking for Dib, for his son. The missing subject who'd been stolen in the middle of the night.

Talk of rewards and offers of glory, anything you want. Just give back my son.  
>Zim scoffed, pupiless eyes flittered to the chamber, taking in the pale naked form. If it hadn't been for him, Dib would surely be dead already. He shuddered (from cold, he told himself) and stood. Another day. Another hour. And nothing seemed to matter. Zim couldn't force himself to care.<p>

/000000/  
><em><br>Membrane's son is still on the loose. They say that someone stole him. Right from under their noses…_

_-click-_

_Did the kid escape? Or was he stolen? Hell, does anyone even know why he was in there in the first place?_

_Some accident, the papers said. Membrane refuses to disclose that information. All we have to go on is that the person who stole little boy blue, was wearing pink and flew off in some sort of air cr-_

_-click-_

_There is a 2.5 million dollar reward for anyone who can find Dib, Membrane's kidnapped so—_

_-click-_

_-freak kid of Membrane's got kidnapped. Who's to say it isn't like the last couple times? Well, this time it isn't for a ransom. As far as they know. Anyway, the story goes is that the kid was in his father's lab when it went boo-_

_-CRASHbzzt- The radio said as it was smashed into the nearest wall._


	2. Part Two

Days were no longer days, but weeks and weeks felt like months. The cliché idea that time seemed to slow down when you were waiting for something seemed to be true. It dragged by at first. As every second expanded itself to a million times more than it was supposed to be.

And Zim watched. He waited. Ruby red eyes dulled, the longer he stood and no response came from the large chamber that held the human boy. He'd figured all Dib needed was time to heal, to recover from such an incident. He had lost a lot of blood after all; the puddle that had surrounded the Dib was way bigger than any Zim had ever seen.

The weeks passed and the pale skin healed itself (with the help of the vitamins in the chamber) to smooth baby pink flesh. All the bruises had long since dispersed and according to the scans he'd done, the boy's ribs were done healing.

Yet, the Dib didn't wake.

6 months. It had been six months since the accident had left the boy unconscious and still he hadn't moved since. Horrible ideas swam through Zim's mind…what if the teenager was brain dead?

A quick scan said there were no hidden bleedings. No, mistake in his calculations. Why wasn't Dib awake? Where there had been arrogance and confidence in his own abilities, was beginning to slowly be replaced with panic.

Another week went by but, it was just another one where his human didn't stir.

Test tubes went soaring through the air to land in a terrible crash on the opposite side of the room, sizzling. Several hunks of metal followed. Zim growled, claws curling in on themselves in frustration.

"Wake up!" He shouted, kicking a trash bin that was sitting harmlessly in his way. It sailed to somewhere in the crooks of his lab, the objects inside scattering.

"WAKE UP!" His next target was the tube. A whole arsenal of clippers and tweezers and scissors banged against the tank, never making a crack in the glass but the sounds themselves sounded destructive. The noise was awful, causing Zim's antenna to twitch.  
>"You idiot! GET UP! MOVE! OPEN YOUR EYES!"<p>

Dib was blank.

A noise was torn from the irken's throat. High, keening and lost in the depths of his lab. It had finally made itself known; the doubt, the fear. He'd felt the same nearly a year ago, on that hill before walking straight into the earth stink's arms. Only then it had been peppered with an underlying nervousness, anticipation, and warm twisty feelings that still made him confused.

This was…this was cold. Zim stormed over to the chamber that held his human and banged on the glass. "Dib! Zim commands you to awaken!" Nothing. "DIB! Wake up! MOVE, DO SOMETHING!" The barrier between them shook with the force of his rage, ruby eyes wide and slightly crazed. "Wake up, wake up, move." He chanted, begging, voice falling slowly from anger to hopelessness.

"Dib…"  
>Nothing. As he was used to. As it had been for many months. Nothing but, the sure, steady beating of Dib's vitals answered the irken. He slipped slowly to the floor, forehead against the glass. "Please…move…"<p>

/000/

_Snow dripped from their sopping clothes as they ran into the building, leaving dirty, wet footprints behind them on the linoleum. Dib was giggling rather madly, in Zim's opinion, pulling said irken along behind him._

_"Slow down, Earth-Stink, we'll slip!" He complained, nearly doing so before righting himself to rush after his eh, ally._

_The human acted as if his ears were clogged, which they probably were, completely ignoring the irken's concerns in favor of skidding through a large group of stiff scientists who glared at the boss's crazy kid and his green skinned foreign friend. Zim realized they were leaving a dirty water trail behind them. Eww._

_Dib's grip tightened as they turned a corner, nearly ramming into a wall. The irken kept up easy enough, but his legs were smaller and he was taking two steps for Dib's every one."Are you," Pant. "Listening to me, Monkey?"_

_The human looked behind his shoulder for a half a second, a manic grin on his face. "No, not really. Why?"_

_"Where are you taking Zim?" Their feet made annoying squeaking noises on the clean floor, assuring that the next person to walk over it would slip and fall. Dib suddenly slammed to a stop in front of a locked door, sending Zim spiraling unceremoniously to the floor._

_He lay face down on the linoleum for a moment, huffing dust away from his face; how had he gotten here again?_

_Dib's stifled laughter reached his covered antenna. "Sorry. Kinda." Another round of soft chuckles, not so stifled anymore._

_Oh yes. There it was. "Get me up off this stupid floor, Dib-idiot." A hand grabbed his and yanked Zim to his feet. The irken was left facing a very smug human. And Zim wanted to be so pissed. He was. But, he was also just plain exasperated._

_He'd come to expect this kind of stuff from the Dib and by stuff he meant smiling and laughing and running around like a moron and the strange touches that weren't threatening anymore but soothing._

_Zim finally looked at the door they were standing outside of. It had a key card swipe and a DNA scan. "How do you expect to get in there?"_

_Dib just smiled and held up a laminated rectangle of plastic. The invader snatched it away and stared at the card of some scientist named Johnson, Lloyd._

_"Eh?" He asked confused. "When did you get this?" The stinky human grabbed it back, letting their fingers touch for a few seconds before interesting it into the slot._

_"When we ran through the scientists back there." Zim hated to admit it but that was…smooth._

_He sniffed indignantly. "Well what about the DNA?" Dib, in response, plucked a strand of hair from his head and let the red light scan it. The door made a beeping sound before it whooshed open._

_"I'm a clone remember?" Dib asked in his best doofus impersonation before striding in like he owned the place. Zim scowled and mimicked the earthian._

_"Mime ma clone wemembe—" Dib reached out and yanked the irken inside just before the door shut with a warning beep. Zim stumbled and glared, fixing his wig atop his head. The entire room was well, in a word, huge. Well lit and white. It was large enough to hold several yellow containers, biohazard-ly marked, filled with Irk only knew what. And at the far end what appeared to be an observing window. A Typical earth lab._

_"This is um," Zim waved a hand about, searching for the correct word. "rather pathetic. But, why are we here, Dib-Brain?" No response. Zim tapped a foot. "Dib-brain?" He turned on his heel and nearly stumbled backwards, his spooch beating too hard. The Dib was doing that thing again. Where he got all close and heavy lidded, eyes filled with something hot._

_"Because you were shivering and we're soaked to the bone and I wanted to be alone with you. And my dad's lab was close. And I know this room is always deserted." Dib pulled off one of his own black gloves and let it fall the floor. Then the other._

_The boy's skin was pinked and slightly wrinkly. Gross, Zim thought, but he didn't feel that disgusted which was a fact that he ignored._

_"You're doing it again." Zim said, one eye narrowed, the other comically huge._

_"I am?" The other asked, removing Zim's hat and wig where they landed with a splat sound on the floor. Zim was kind of glad to be rid of the offending items. Dib then unwound the alien's pink scarf where it joined the other items._

_"Yes. The weird thing. With the low voice and dark eyes." The irken stood rather stiffly, just watching what the Dib did. The human stripped them both down to their first layers which were blessedly dry._

_"I am, am I?" Yep. That husky voice and...and the darkening of the golden irises, to where Zim could hardly distinguish between the iris and the pupil, but they shone with the golden specks._

_"Yes." Zim hissed, brow furrowed, hating how his squeedely spooch was speeding up. How it was suddenly harder to swallow than it had been a few minutes ago. How his skin was too tight and hot where he'd just been too cold. "Stop it." But, even to his antenna it was weak sounding._

_Dib, to his credit, laid their foreheads together but did nothing else. "Do you really want me to stop?" Five fingers ran up and down Zim's arms, trying to warm him up with friction. "You know I will if you want me to." That had happened a few times. Near the beginning._

_Oh. Irk. Stupid monkey brain with his annoying voice and amazingly warm hands. How could they be that hot? Hadn't they both been out in the snow? His disguised eyes were focused down at the hands that kept going up and down, up and down his uniform covered arms._

_He could feel the boy's eyes on him, burrowing into him. Finally Zim met them. And they were close. Too close. He should step away. Away. STEP AWAY._

_Zim shuffled closer, hating both of them. Well more Dib than himself. But, that wasn't new. Dib had obviously been expecting this response; after all this wasn't the first time they'd done this. And it was the same nearly every time. Only it never got old._

_The human hummed low in the back of his throat, pleased as he wrapped Zim in his arms, bring their bodies together. Zim stubbornly bit down on his lip to stop a sigh; oh blessed heat. Dib's right hand moved behind the alien's neck, tilting his head up the six and a half inches it took for their lips to be at the same height._

_When they met for the 25th time (Zim kept count), it wasn't new by any means but, the irken still felt that tingle in his lips, the feeling of taboo, shortness of breath._

_There must be something wrong with this. It had to be against the law somewhere in the universe to feel like this. This on edge, this good, this wrapped up in an action._

_Dib sighed into the kiss, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a smile. He slowly guided the irken who was still getting used to the whole custom. Only the last ten or so times had Zim actually started to respond. Before then he'd been content to let Dib kiss him; a peck here and there. But, nothing more._

_The human boy nibbled on the alien's bottom lip which made any lasting tension in his body disappear. Zim tentatively responded, placing a small peck on Dib's top lip. His brows furrowed, taking this seriously. This was a earthian custom he was determined to become amazing at. The human smiled softly again, his fingers glancing across the base of an antenna. Zim shuddered, pressing back harder. Dib let his tongue swipe softly across his companion's bottom lip._

_The irken's breath hitched up into his throat before mirrored the action with his own long, serpentine tongue. Dib made a noise then that made his antenna perk in confusion and curiosity. It sounded…satisfied. Good. The stupid boy shoul-shoul oh. Heat exploded in his center, dripping down to his toes and crawling up into his cheeks._

_Zim dug his nails into Dib's back making a startled yelp escape him, which the alien absorbed into his own mouth._

_Then it was kind of a blur from there; he's lifted onto his toes, pressed against the human, their mouths devouring each other, taking in each other's air and flavor. It's all tounge and teeth. And Zim is all feeling. He's overwhelmed with it. Destroyed and dissolved in the sensations of kissing the boy he'd once considered his enemy._

_This was what the Academy had drilled out of us from hatching. This forbidden heat. He thinks distantly. And Zim is greedy for every drop of ecstasy he gleans. The human has him in his grip, pressing them against something solid. It's cold against the warmth of this.  
>There's faint clicking, and then a loud buzz.<em>

_Next they're falling and even though this is a memory, a dream that is on replay, Zim knows what happens next; their bodies go cold from the floor, then the loud whirling, the buzzing. It's so high pitched it makes his antenna try to hide themselves against his scalp._

_Dib is panting, clutching his hands to his ears. Numbers. "10…9…8…7…" Golden eyes are flickering as they both try to understand what is happening. What had they done? Then the Irken sees the exact moment that the Dib comes to his conclusion because his face is transformed; from confusion and concentration to fear. Pure terror._

_And Zim knows instinctively that Dib isn't scared for himself. "3…2…" The deep neutral voice says._

_"Zim!" The human cries, reaching for him, throwing himself, as if that will help save them both, as if Zim needs his help. Foolish. Panic. The beeping. The rumble of chemicals and matter. This is a sealed off zone and they should've known. How pathetic._

_His lips form the boys name, even though he knows it's stupid to do so. "DIB!" Why? Why is he reaching, jumping, hoping…wrapping the stupid human in his arms…_

_There's the inevitable blast that turns the air white, makes Zim's mind black._


	3. Part Three

Dib's name began to fade from everyday conversation. The missing, dying boy. Oh yeah, him. Never found him, eh? Nope. Not a trace. Shame.

He died from their lips, boring. One of those mysteries that disappears from history, waiting for another generation to discover the answer to. Membrane, to his credit, tried. He kept the ads running. The posters replaced, covering the whole town in brightly colored papers.

At first it raised awareness, but as people do, they grew accustomed and adapted to the neon tree slicings, passing them by without a second glance.

The news that had spread all over the world was once again brought back to just this ruined town that was missing its leader, failing and breaking. Membrane had his daughter still, had his people and science. So he threw himself into it on a whole new level; trying to develop products to make the world safer, to make it so children were never lost and improve the amount of time it took to heal devastating injuries.

The years passed. At first slowly. One. Two. Drops of rain in a pond. Not noticeable, but for the tiny ripples they made. Then five. The Dib was forgotten by everyone but Zim, Gaz and Membrane. The fliers had long been thrown away, washed away, faded and warped.

A whole decade. Membrane died from a freak lab accident. Apparently he was trying to reverse the explosion that had transpired that day, to try to discover what had caused it and how to help fix similar injuries. The irony was lost on the world. Only mourning.

People wore black and for the longest time that was what covered the world; for another two years. Until they began to adapt as all humans do eventually.

Only Gaz still wore the veil of sadness, losing her only two family members took a toll that was too great.

Five years and they found her dead from a drug overdose in some crummy apartment on the west side of town. Her video console was still beeping away cheerily the theme song of her favorite video game.

Zim remembered talking to Dib a lot. Trying to reach him but mainly just talking. Talking and trying to break the news carefully as if he could hear them. On Dib's behalf, he trudged out to both their graves and placed the traditional flowers and chocolate. He wasn't so sure about the chocolate thing but, a lot of holidays and traditions involved them so he did it anyway.

Fifteen. Twenty.

No one knew of the boy. No one cared about much anymore. At least when it came to long dead people. Old myths and legends. A thing of the past. All that mattered was excess. And the people took and took, destroyed and ruined themselves.

Thirty. Forty.

The planet cried out for help as it was overflowed with people, places, trash, noise. They never saw the warning signs and anyone who tried to speak was silenced immediately.

Fifty. Sixty.

Governments changed. People changed. The wars began and ended. Trends, generations. Music styles. People walked and talked, deformed their bodies for fashion. Dyed and tanned and split and cheated and loved and hated and laughed and cried. They traveled from country to country, either physically or virtually. It was practically the same thing.

Seventy. Eighty.

And they walked by the tiny, itty-bitty and not to mention dirty green house that was faded with time, graffiti-ed and fit snug between two giant apartment complexes. The city had shot out of the dirt, rising to its height. And leaving the past behind them where it belonged.

Ninety. One Hundred.

The ghostly paint had peeled, metal walls rusted. Vandals had broken in long ago and looted it for goods, picked it clean. The TV gone and furniture as well. Trash and crude writings on the walls and floors. But, no one had ever found the secret elevators and passages that led to the much larger rooms beneath the soil.

Of course the government had tried long ago to destroy it. It was getting in the way of their new buildings. It was ugly. No one could find any records of whose it was so they tried their best to demolish it.

Only nothing worked. They brought wrecking balls. No dent. As many times as they tried the house never budged. They tried explosives. Fire. Acids even. The house stayed silent and unmovable. Harsh with scorch marks and mocking them from the eye like windows. Its unknown past and strange structure felt eerie so, after a while they just left it and built around it.

There were the rumors of a little green person who came out only at nights and only once a year. But, rumors were what they were and weren't really believed.

Two hundred. Three hundred years.

Fighting. Dying. Falling and destroying. It was the human's nature and they did it without really thinking about the consequences.

Zim felt insanity as it crept up on him. He knew that he might've lost his mind long ago if it wasn't for the radio which ran off batteries he could make himself. No electricity ran to his house anymore. The only thing he kept powered with a generator connected to solar panels on the roof was Dib's life support tank.

The radio brought him news of the rising and falling of humanity. They were destroying themselves and grimly he smiled. He had never needed to do anything to these people. They did it themselves.

Four hundred, five hundred.

And they were gone. The radio buzzed silently. No emergency broadcasts or advertisements. No more war propaganda or cries for help. Zim sat next to it and just stared at the human as he floated, suspended in the same way he'd been for nearly half a millennium.

His pak whirled slowly, straining to keep itself going. Zim hadn't done much these last few eh…however many years it was. Sat by the human, occasionally slept. Kept up the life supports and went to the graves of Dib's family. Only now there was no point. The tomb stones had long since faded and been destroyed by the war.

His eyes hurt and Zim finally blinked after what felt like forever.

When he opened them again, they went right back to Dib who was unmoving as ever.

-00—

_There was blood and hatred. Enemies till the end. Knowing was the key to fighting each other and winning. Winning the earth. And for years…that's all it was. A battle. Constant pain. Determination and pride._

_But, then they realized that they needed each other for sanity's sake. Because now they had become what each other needed. Fell into a trap neither of them had been looking to set. So in all reluctance they kept fighting, kept trying to win even whilst knowing they would never finish each other off. It would be worse than death to do so._

_Slowly, that fiery hatred became a twisted kind of desire. Boundaries of enemy and friend were blurred. They had a relationship that was like no other. Loyalty and passion. Kinship in their pasts. Laughter that danced along with the yelps of pain._

_Devotion._

_And so when Dib had kissed Zim that day…he'd almost been unsurprised. But, it hadn't stopped him from punching the human boy. They'd avoided each other for a short while before Zim had had enough and gave in on top of that hill, during the spring._

_From then on…Dib was happier than Zim had ever seen him. There were arguments that were resolved with sweets and mumbled apologies. Clumsy kisses on Dib's part. Awkward hand holding that slowly became normal. They ordered food and ate it in, snuggled under blankets and watching X-Files, Napoleon documentaries, horror movies and Mysterious Mysteries._

_Dib told Zim all his secrets, ones that Zim found fascinating even if he pretended to be just as fascinated with a rouge noodle that had fallen from his fork._

Six hundred…

_They watched the stars. Zim pointed out every place he'd been. But, there was only so much you could see with all the pollution and lights blocking the stars. So they would take to the sky and fly around the planet, out into space._

_Dib adored it; face and hands pressed against the window. Zim yelled at him for getting grubby little marks all over the place but, he was secretly pleased he could make Dib so overjoyed. That HE caused that smile._

_And that's what they did on the teenager's birthday. Visited the stars. It was there in space, within the pure black vacuum, with a billion million stars around them that Dib kissed the irken…and the first time that Zim hesitantly kissed back._

Seven hundred…

_"Zim…how old are you?" the human questioned, a curious hand playing with the irken's fingers. Said irken raised a nonexistent eyebrow, watching the movements carefully._

_"Older than you, Stink-Beast." Dib, in response, only rolled his amber eyes._

_"No shit? I'm serious, Zim. Tell me…"_

_"Why?"_

_"Because if you don't I'll tickle you." Dib said seriously. He knew that Zim hated it when he did that. The sensation was this strange mixture of pure glee and terror and being forced to feel so against your will was horrible. Zim scowled._

_"I'm one hundred and thirty five in earth years." From the teen's reaction, Zim could tell this wasn't what he'd been expecting._

_"O-one hundred and-? Jeeze. I'm dating a geezer." The teen's smirk was back. Zim had no idea what this 'geezer' was but, he had no intention of being called it once again._

_"Do not call Zim by that stupid name." He threatened, taking his hand out of the grip of the boy as punishment._

_"What? Geezer? Well, it's true Yanno. On my planet you're kind of a pedophile Zim." Dib teased, gold eyes dancing with delight. Zim hissed his displeasure, trying to hide his confusion._

_"A what? Stop speaking monkey!" Dib giggled and sidled closer to the irken menace._

_"A pedophile. I'm under 18, Zim. You're a hundred and thirty five. That's illegal. You're breaking the law." He murmured back, doing that obnoxious thing again where his eyes got all heavy lidded and dark. Zim's stupid spooch beat faster in response._

_"Of course, I'm breaking it. I'm an evil mastermind." He sniffed, chin lifting itself with pride. Dib's smirk grew wider._

_"Yes, Zim. Yes you are."_

Seven hundred and fifty…

Plants and grass were finally starting to grow again, up out of the wreckage. He'd been worried that the amount of radiation would make the planet barren but, it seemed that Mother Nature was more adept at starting over again than the humans ever had been.

Zim stood on top of a big pile of rubble, kicking an old red toy top out of his way before sliding down the rusted, warped metal and into a giant field. The green stuff was poking up through old buildings and moss was starting to cover up something giant. A bus maybe? It nearly looked like a hill.

A hill…Zim's breath hitched in his throat and he walked over to the mound and began to climb it. It wasn't their hill but, a sense of déjà vu still hit him hard. For a few minutes, he just stood there and stared out at what this world had become.

The sun was high in the sky, dropping beam upon beam down to the virgin life beneath, reawakening the plants and microorganisms from the desolate area. In a few years time, everything that the humans had left behind would be gone.

Even the once red sky was beginning to look bit blue as he'd seen in old pictures…so long ago. Zim's helmet buzzed a bit to remind him that the air in his back up tube was running low. He had to get back to the base.

Maybe in a few more…days, weeks, years? He would be able to walk outside without wearing the helmet. On the way back he picked a few flowers, admiring them because of their color; they had long lanky stems, little curly leaves and bright, amber petals that danced in the breeze.

He laid them down in front of the chamber. But refused to think of it as a way to mourn. Dib wasn't dead. The life line was still beeping. Dib was still alive…


	4. Final

A millennium wasn't as long to an Irken as it was to a human. In fact it was about a hundred years in their time. And Irkens could live as long as they didn't die in battle, from sickness, or from being murdered. Zim had the kind of good luck that assured that none of these had happened to him. Yet.

The ex-invader had gotten in the habit of taking walks around the place that used to be the town, but was now rolling landscapes and gorgeous growing vegetation. He'd even begun to see a few different kinds of animals and insects.

Some with big bug like eyes, and long flowing wings that zoomed past like lightening. Small, furry animals with squished little noses and giant black wet eyes. They never approached him and Zim did the same. They begun to see him as just another one of the many other creatures who lived in this post-humanity world and even respected his territory.

Zim's fingers fluttered over the golden pedaled flowers that reminded him so much of Dib with their color and the fact that the bud was nearly too big for the stem to handle, as they spread open from the nearly black outer cover and up to the sun, that he'd begun calling them Big-Heads.

And they grew everywhere. An infestation of this planet, just as much as Dib was of Zim's mind. Growing roots down inside of him so long ago, growing out past his collar bones and around his spooch.

As was custom, Zim picked a few not ugly ones and took them back to the underground lab, laying them down in front of the tube that housed his human, where the others were as well, large and alive.

The thing with these flowers…was that they grew in even the harshest conditions. They'd dug little roots into the lab floor, through cracks and tiny spaces, refusing to die even after being plucked from the outside world. They used artificial light and whatever else they could get their hands on. Surviving despite the odds…yet another thing that reminded him of the big-headed boy.

"Good morning, Stink-Brain." Zim said to the tube, placing his hand against the glass, eyes roaming the pale figure. "I saw more of those furry things today. And it looks like it might rain again." The irken shuddered from the thought, leaning his forehead against the glass. "Are you done being lazy? Going to wake up and grace me with your smelly presence?"

He didn't expect an answer. And as usual, he didn't receive one. "Fine then. One more day, you hear? Then you'll have to wake up." With that decided, he strode over to the machine that housed Dib and began doing the usual tune ups. As he worked, he spoke and as he spoke, he thought. Zim hated to think. Unfortunately, he seemed un-able to help it these days.

/oo/

_"I love you." Dib whispered into the alien's antenna. It was practically a sigh, coming out on a exhale. The night sky blinked back at them. Zim watched a little red dot zoom by, knowing it was a helicopter and not a comet as he had once thought._

_He was very much trapped in the human's arms, wrapped up in the embrace called 'cuddling', swathed by fuzzy blankets and pressed against warm Dib flesh. Zim's head rested in the crook of the boy's shoulder so he could easily hear the three words spoken so softly._

_Zim's 'brow' didn't furrow as it had used to when Dib said such things. It had used to confuse and repel him. He'd used the Google, the dictionary and asked around and it still made no sense to him. So, like he did when things weren't going his way, Zim gave up. He just went with it now._

_Usually, Dib didn't seem to mind. Now however, the human let out a frustrated breath. "No response? Not even an 'okay'?" Zim squirmed around in the tight embrace until he stared back at the face of his enemy._

_"What are you babbling about now?" He asked, confused and willing to side step the boy's attitude just this once for some answers. Dib huffed angrily._

_"I told you, 'I love you'."_

_"You tell me that often." He pointed out, poking the human's smelling apparatus. Dib wriggled his nose, scowling before grabbing the hand and biting the finger tip as punishment. Although it didn't hurt so Zim didn't really understand the exercise._

_"Yeah. I do…"_

_"Why?"_

_"Uh. Because I do?" The human scratched the back of his head, making his already messy hair even more of a disaster. Zim felt a tiny squiggle of warmth go swooshing through his spooch. That wasn't unusual. He just couldn't tell if he liked the sensation or not._

_"Do what?" Zim asked blankly. Dib threw his arm in the air, waving it around, frustrated._

_"Tell you I love you! Jeesh, Zim."_

_The irken frowned, crossing his arms. "But, Zim is confused. What are we bickering about now? Not that it matters. I'll win anyway." The human sighed and ran a hand down his face._

_"Probably. Well, we're fighting because I told you I loved you. And—well. Ugh. It's just…do you ever think you'll…" The words were rushed and then slowed down to a stop. A heavy pause hung in the evening air. Zim gave the boy a second to finish before, becoming impatient._

_"I'll what?"_

_"Say it back?"_

_"Dib, why would I do a stupid thing li—"_

"Wake up, Zim." _Dib said. Zim did a double take, non-existent brows furrowing in confusion. That had never happened in this memory._

"Eh?" The irken rubbed his head, sitting up from where he'd fallen asleep on the cold, metal floor. His skin tingled all over, senses over loaded with the everyday scents of the flowers and antiseptic fluid. Normal. Safe. So why did his head hurt? He shoved himself up from the floor, holding his head in his hands as he walked towards the tube, squinting at the bubbling liquid.

It looked the same as it always did. Dib limp, motionless and pale. Suspended expertly between dead and alive. Zim sighed, wondering where the interruption had come from. Maybe it was a side effect of all the sun he'd been exposed to. The left over radiation—

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._

The irken whirled around, searching frantically for the source of the irritating noise. Red eyes scanned Dib's tank. It wasn't from the human. The life vitals were still even, still constant. And all the rest of his machinery had long since been shut down to conserve powe—

"Argh!" His mental musings were cut off once again as his head began to feel as if it was splitting in two.

Zim grasped his forehead, hissing in agony. "What? What is..happening?" Then his chest. Like something was pounding on it, over and over again. Trying to force his spooch from his ribs. Bang. Bang. Bang. The force was so powerful that he fell to his knees, smashing several flowers in the process.

Light headed, his vision began to blur, the lab beginning to fade from his view. Zim gasped for air and forced himself to turn around so he could see the human in his container.

Was this death? Was he finally dying after years and years alone?

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. Zim! Come on! Come back to me!_

That was…the Dib?! The Dib's voice. He hadn't heard that outside of his own memories and dreams. Nightmares. It sounded so close. Rough with emotion and hoarse from yelling. Was this the human…welcoming him to the abyss? Coaxing him under to his death?

Irk, he hoped so. Once he'd thought that he wouldn't go wherever the human would go. They'd spoken of it before. For irkens there was no heaven or hell because they were soulless. And if Zim didn't get to be with the Dib…well at least maybe he would spend his last seconds with him.

They could die. Like things were supposed to. With limited movement, Zim reached across to the life support and unhooked a vital wire, letting nature take the human as it took him. Zim's vision of the human faded down to the pale skin, floating hair as he fell backwards in the bed of big-headed golden flowers he'd collected. Death. Sweet death. Finally.

His antenna curled in on themselves because the noise was too much.

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. Something frantically whirled, alerting anyone who would listen that something had gone wrong here. A horrible shot of pain had him gasping for breath, brows furrowing in confusion. Was this the afterlife? Pure suffering?_

_"Oh, thank god!" A husky voice declared and it rung clear above all the noise, above his own agony. It was crazed with fear. Broken with strong emotion. Spoken with those extra high vowels. The Dib. Zim's eye shot open just as two arms scooped him up off the cold, metal surface he'd been on. In comparison they were so warm. Strong._

_It took a few moments for his vision to adjust; the entire room was in shambles. And red lights spun in tune with the alarm. He bounced as Dib jumped over a big pile of cement. He moaned as his ribs were jostled from the movement. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something pink. His scarf…caught under broken dry wall._

_"Sorry, Zim. But, we have to get out of here. Just bear with me." The irken's head snapped to the side, which he instantly regretted doing because his brain seemed to rattle inside of his skull. Dib…who smelled like those flowers with the big heads, and like anti septic. With his ripped blue sweater and straight black, messy hair._

_He was pressed against the human's chest, head in the boy's shoulder and neck crevice. The pain was still there…he felt warmth flooding from his back where he could guess he was bleeding from. He could hardly see out of his left eye but, there he was._

_The stupid, smelly human boy with his golden eyes, wide with caution and dilated with adrenaline. Lashes sweeping over his cheek bones as he blinked frantically. His chest moved. Dib was moving…_

_Zim laughed loudly and it didn't feel out of place. The human threw a glance at the alien before he kicked the door to the lab open and skidded out into the hallways where tons of scientists had already gathered, buzzing about the strange explosion. Dib shoved his way through, knocking several people out of his way and to the floor. "Move it! Move out of my way. Seriously injured moron in my arms!"_

_The human didn't stop, shoving open emergency doors into the cold winter afternoon. The temperature prickled at Zim's lungs, and made goose bumps rise up on Dib's flesh as they skidded over ice and snow. Zim sat back in the boy's warmth and just admired his determination. It was better than thinking about his injuries._

_Dib finally stopped in front of Zim's base, panting heavily as he carried the alien up the pathway and into the house, lawn gnomes watching with blank eyes. Dib somehow got the door open, bursting into the room and setting Zim down on the pink couch and putting his head between his knees for a few moments to catch his breath._

_The irken didn't dare move, his eyes glued to Dib, body limp on the couch. Snowflakes had fallen in the human's hair and lashes. His cheeks were flushed red from exertion and cold, lips chapped. He looked horrible. Zim's spooch beat so loud he could feel it in his antenna. Something desperate was rising up in his throat. Everything was vibrating._

_"Dib-human…you're okay." Dib looked up from the floor, still slightly panting and nodded._

_"Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks to you, asshole." Oh yes. He'd covered the Dib with his body before the explosion. Zim smirked._

_"You're welcome, Pig." Dib smiled right back and turned the alien over with care to look at the wounds._

_"They don't look too serious. You might need stitches though." Zim waved his hand in the air noncommittally. He would be fine. His skin would heal soon. The bleeding had already slowed considerably. He flipped over on his back and stared up at the human who in return raised an eyebrow. Zim grabbed Dib's collar and yanked._

_"Wha-" He was cut off when Zim's arms were around his neck, lips pressed against his cheek. He could feel the irken's mouth moving, murmuring softly in his native language. The words were harsh clicks and they sounded desperate, thankful, pained. And the alien's grip was too tight. It was nearly suffocating but, for some reason Dib knew that Zim needed it._

_He wrapped his arms around the irken. "Are you okay? You've been weird since you woke up."_

_"Yes. Don't be stupid. Zim is fine…it's just…" Silence. "Say it?"_

_"Huh? Say what?"_

_"T-the love thing." Zim whispered, jaw clenched with ghostly pain._

_"I love you?" Dib said, confused but willing. The alien nodded silently and bit down on his tongue to stop the stupid noises of relief. To clench the flow of yawing loneliness from his system. The Dib was okay. Moving. Alive. Perfectly imperfect. Zim gulped down the ridiculous ache in his throat, mouth dry, eyes anything but. Not crying. That was for smeets._

_"I-…Zim…loves you." The human froze, unsure of what he'd just heard. His head slowly pulled away from the irken's embrace and he stared into Zim's eyes…his heart was beating way too fast and time seemed meaningless._

_"What? You…mean it?"_

_"Of course, I mean it. Zim doesn't say anything he doesn't mean." He sniffed indignantly._

_"What made you change your mind? I thought that love for stupid humans?"_

"_It is.." Zim hesitated, looking away towards the pink wallpaper. "I just…Zim doesn't want to live without you. I'll do anything to keep you…" It was just that the pain of living without the human had nearly driven him insane…Zim was grateful to have the boy near him. And he was never letting anything happen to him again._

_Dib sighed, feeling happiness and desire and the left overs of pain as he grabbed Zim's chin lightly and turned it to the irken looked right at him as he said the last part. It seemed to resonate between them like an echo that refused to die. Like immortal flowers and humanity's stupidity. Like the delicacy of life and the question of dreams._

_"It feels like I've loved you forever…for a thousand years...and I'll be in love with your stupid head for a thousand more."_

**FIN.**

A.N.: So, did they both die and this is Zim's heaven? Or was it all just a terrible dream?


End file.
